The Lally family certainly believes in Chatham-Kent.
Earlier this month, Vince Lally and family completed the purchase of Chatham Chrysler and Chatham Mazda, side-by-side dealerships on Richmond Street in Chatham.
Adam Lally, son of Vince and general manager at Victory Ford Lincoln, said the move was a long time in the making.
“It was something my dad and previous ownership had discussed for a while,” he said. “But everything just fell into place the last couple of months.”
Adam said the quality of the operation at Chatham Chrysler made it attractive.
“They have a pretty good name in the community and have some pretty good staff here. They do a good job taking care of their customers,” he said. “Everyone’s been really receptive to us coming in.”
Not only are there good people on staff, they are selling quality vehicles, he added.
“The reason why it is a great opportunity is to get the number two brand in Canada and bring a successful dealership under our wing,” Adam said, adding Mazda is a solid seller as well. “And Mazda is an up-and-coming brand that we have a lot of hope for in the future.”
He likes the potential of the local dealership as well.
“Chatham Mazda has seen a lot of growth. There are exciting new products,” he said. “There’s a great team over there as well.”
Adam said the Chrysler dealership will soon see some upgrades.
“We’re definitely going to be renovating the Chrysler location. It needs some interior renovation. We’re tiling the showroom and adding a few offices.”
He said the renovations aren’t an extreme makeover, but rather a polishing of the apple, to “make something that’s already good even better.”
Adam said the intent is to begin the renovations this summer.
Mike Hogue will take over as general manager for Chatham Chrysler from Dave Tessier who was the dealer principle at both Chatham Chrysler and Chatham Mazda. Tessier will serve as general manager of the Mazda dealership.
The Lally family has long been in the car business in the region. It began with Adam’s grandfather who started a gas station in 1946 in Comber. It became a Subaru dealership in the 1970s and then a Ford dealership in the early 1980s and moved to Tilbury in 1995.
The Lallys have gradually expanded in recent years, adding Southpoint Ford in Leamington in 2007, Victory Ford Lincoln in 2010, and then Lally Kia in 2012.
They also own Lakeshore Auto, a used car lot in Tilbury.
Adam said the family has roots in southwestern Ontario, and loves Chatham-Kent.
“We believe in the Chatham and regional market. I think this is a great place to live and work and be a part of. There are a lot of great people, reasonable people, here,” he said. “If you treat people fairly, they tend to reward you with loyalty.”
In terms of fairness, Adam stressed each dealership runs as an individual entity, adding that by owning multiple dealerships, the family can “leverage size and synergies to help keep our costs down.”
The intent is to give the customer the best deal and best treatment possible.
“It’s not about selling somebody one car. It’s about being there for the long haul,” Adam said. “I’d like to think we’ve been able to do that in the market.”
